Cooperation in large-scale human societies-What, if anything, makes it unique, and how did it evolve?

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Version: Author's accepted manuscript
License: CC0 1.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_A51F66E7E3E2
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Review (review): journal as complete as possible of one specific subject, written based on exhaustive analyses from published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Cooperation in large-scale human societies-What, if anything, makes it unique, and how did it evolve?
Journal
Evolutionary anthropology
Author(s)
Powers S.T., van Schaik C.P., Lehmann L.
ISSN
1520-6505 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1060-1538
Publication state
Published
Issued date
07/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
30
Number
4
Pages
280-293
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Review
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
To resolve the major controversy about why prosocial behaviors persist in large-scale human societies, we propose that two questions need to be answered. First, how do social interactions in small-scale and large-scale societies differ? By reviewing the exchange and collective-action dilemmas in both small-scale and large-scale societies, we show they are not different. Second, are individual decision-making mechanisms driven by self-interest? We extract from the literature three types of individual decision-making mechanism, which differ in their social influence and sensitivity to self-interest, to conclude that humans interacting with non-relatives are largely driven by self-interest. We then ask: what was the key mechanism that allowed prosocial behaviors to continue as societies grew? We show the key role played by new social interaction mechanisms-change in the rules of exchange and collective-action dilemmas-devised by the interacting individuals, which allow for self-interested individuals to remain prosocial as societies grow.
Keywords
Anthropology, Cultural, Cooperative Behavior, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Social Evolution, cooperation, cultural group selection, evolutionary psychology, human social evolution, institutions, large-scale societies
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
27/05/2019 14:12
Last modification date
26/03/2024 7:10
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